Boat propelling mechanism



May 5, 1191536. c. .CARROLL BOAT PROPELLING MECHANISM.

Filed June l2, 1935 INVENTOR. @Zerelan Cyr/froh),

ATTORI\% Patented May 5, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a boatpropelling mechanism adapted for use primarily with those boats whichare propelled by hand power through the medium of oars and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a boat propellingdevice in which a crank operated mechanism may be used for propellingthe boat.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hand operatedmechanism for rotating a screw propeller.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a boat propellingmechanism of this type which may be easily and quickly attached to anddetached from a boat With which used.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device ci thisclass which will be simple in structure, economical to manufacture,durable, compact and highly eicient in use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of thisclass which may be detachably mounted on a boat and which will serve tomaintain the propeller or other driving mechanism positioned to lieabove the bottom of the boat so that its contact with stones,projections or the like may be prevented.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by a reference to the accompanyingdrawing which forms a part of this specification, and in which,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a boat showing the invention applied.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the invention, showing it applied.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the invention taken on line 4-4of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In Fig. 1 I have indicated the invention applied to a boat having sidewalls 9 and I 0. The invention comprises a box like housing having thefront wall II, the rear wall I2 and side walls I3. Pro- -jected into thehousing at the upper end thereof is a shaft I4 on which is formed thecrank I5 having a suitable hand grip I6 mounted thereon. Within thehousing there is xedly mounted on the shaft I4 a sprocket wheel I'Ipassing around which is the endless sprocket chain I8 so that a rotationof the shaft I4 will serve to drive or rotate the sprocket wheel I9which is located at the base of the housing and xedly mounted on theshaft 20. 'I'his shaft 20 projects into the auxiliary housing ZI Whichis mounted on and projects outwardly of the outer face of the front 5wall I I of the main housing. Fixedly mounted on the shaft 20 within thehousing 2| is a worm 22 meshing with the worm gear 23 fixedly mounted onthe shaft 24. This shaft 24 projects outwardly from the housing 2| andfixedly mounted on the 10 shaft 24 is a screw propeller 25. It will benoted that the shaft 24 extends at right angles to the direction of theshaft I4.

A plurality of openings 26 are formed through the housing firstdescribed which may be termed l5 the vertically extended housing.Projecting through these openings are bolts 21 on which are threaded thewing nuts 28 to clamp the L shaped clamping plate 29 against the sidewalls 9 or IIJ of the boat so as to securely mount the vertically 20extended housing in position thereon. It will be noted that this housingis mounted in such a position that its lower end is positioned wellabove the bottom 30 of the boat so that the propeller blades do notproject below the bottom of the 25 boat. By loosening the wing nuts 28,the device may be removed easily and quickly from the boat and it isbelieved obvious that its attachment to the boat may be just as easilyand quickly effected.

When these devices are mounted in position so that the operator seatedon the seat 3| of the boat may rotate the shafts I4, a very eflicientpropeller mechanism is thus provided and the propelling of the boat maybe easily effected and with greater speed and with less effort than isordinarily effected with a pair of oars. It is obvious that the ratiobetween the gears I1, I9 and the worm 22 and the worm gear 23 must besuch as to transmit the desired speed of rotation to the shafts 24 whenthe shafts I4 are rotated. Another advantage of such a construction is aquiet operation and steady travel of the boat, thus eliminatingsplashing and the noises ordinarily incident to the rowing of a boat.

It is believed that the economy of manufacture is obvious from thedescription given while the compactness of the structure is alsobelieved apparent.

The housing 2I may be lled with suitable lubricant and by mounting theshafts in suitable bearings of an anti-friction type, a smoothlyoperating device becomes possible. The vertically extended housing,because of its enclosing the sprocket chain and the sprocket wheels,will serve to protect the device from foreign material such as dust,weeds and the like, while at the same time the proper lubrication may bemaintained on the parts necessary to be lubricated.

The provision of the holes 26 permits the device to be adjusted to boatsof various sizes so that it may be universal in its adoption for use.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction of my invention, I do not Wish to limit myself to theprecise details of structure shown but desire to avail myself of suchvariations and modications as may come within the scope of the appendedclaim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A boat propelling mechanism comprising a vertically extending housing,means for attaching said housing to a side wall of a boat, an auxiliaryhousing projecting outwardly from the outer side of said rst mentionedhousing adjacent the bottom thereof, said outer side of said firstmentioned housing forming a partition between said auxiliary housing andsaid rst mentioned housing, a crank shaft projected at one end into saidvertically extending housing adjacent its upper end, a sprocket wheelfixedly mounted on said crank shaft within said housing, a second shaftextending into said vertically extending housing and into said auxiliaryhousing, said shaft passing through said side of the verticallyextending housing, a sprocket wheel xedly mounted on said second shaftwithin the vertical extending housing, a sprocket chain connecting saidsprocket Wheels, a propeller shaft projecting outwardly from saidauxiliary housing and extending parallel to the side wall of the boat,gearing located in said auxiliary housing and associated with saidsecond shaft and said propeller shaft for eiecting a rotation of saidpropeller shaft upon a rotation of said crank shaft, and said auxiliaryhousing serving as a lubricant chamber for said gearing.

CLEVELAND L. CARROLL.

